Match Report: Liverpool 2 - 2 Sunderland

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard once again came to his side's rescue but it was referee Stuart Attwell at the centre of attention with an erratic display in Sunderland's 2-2 draw at Anfield.

The official, who awarded the infamous "ghost goal" in the Championship two years ago, allowed Dirk Kuyt's opening strike to count after ruling Michael Turner had taken a free-kick when he appeared to roll it back to goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Darren Bent hit back with a penalty and a header either side of half-time before Gerrard nodded in Fernando Torres' near-post cross to salvage a point.

Reds manager Roy Hodgson had stressed his side should not be judged by the second-string's Carling Cup defeat to League Two Northampton in midweek but his first XI were almost as bad.

They were gifted one goal but managed to create little themselves and were again indebted to their inspirational captain for only briefly dragging them out of mediocrity.

Torres also played his part early on but cut an increasingly frustrated figure as Liverpool seemed to go backwards.

Only two minutes in he had the ball in the net after controlling Gerrard's free-kick on his chest and volleying in only to be denied by a very marginal offside decision.

His next intervention three minutes later had far more impact, although he was given a huge helping hand by Attwell.

When Sunderland were awarded a free-kick 10 yards inside their half Turner tapped the ball back towards Simon Mignolet, presumably intending for the goalkeeper to take it.

Torres turned to look at Attwell, who was in charge when Reading 'scored' at Watford on September 20 2008 despite the ball going yards wide of the post, who immediately waved play on.

Mignolet stood on the edge of his penalty area raising one arm aloft in the vain hope Torres would take pity but the 26-year-old was not in a sympathetic mood and rolled a pass for Kuyt, back in the side after a quicker-than-expected recovery from a shoulder injury, to slide a shot into the net.

Turner's challenge on the Spaniard in the 17th minute could have resulted in a penalty but, considering his earlier decision, the 27-year-old Attwell ignored appeals.

Everything seemed to be going in Liverpool's favour but, as been the case on several occasions already this season, they conspired to shoot themselves in the foot.

Gerrard's weak header back towards his own goal would have put Bent in had Jose Reina not dived feet-first to clear the danger.

If it was a warning to tighten up the Reds did not heed it as Attwell was called into action again in the 25th minute, although this time his decision was a little more straightforward as Ahmed Elmohamady's cross hit Christian Poulsen's arm.

Bent's penalty went under the Reina's body.

Things went from bad to worse as Paul Konchesky had to be replaced by makeshift left-back Daniel Agger before half-time and then Sunderland went ahead just after the interval.

Nedum Onuoha's right-wing cross was a good one but Glen Johnson was caught ball-watching the wrong side of Bent as the striker nipped in at the far post to head his side in front.

Even the usually reliable Reina was rattled, scuffing one clearance straight at Jordan Henderson who almost punished the error with a long-range shot.

Torres' temper was bubbling over and after diving in at Onuoha he was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after visibly showing dissent to Attwell.

Hodgson made a positive substitution by replacing defensive midfielder Poulsen with striker David Ngog, bringing Meireles inside and moving Kuyt out to the right.

But with the game seemingly drifting away from them, Liverpool's two star players dragged them back into the contest midway through the half.

Torres beat Bardsley close to the right touchline and swung over an inviting cross which Gerrard headed in at the near post.

The England midfielder was booked for catching Danny Welbeck in the face with his arm as they challenged for the ball as the atmosphere began to heat up.

Liverpool, at least, were now showing some desire and Ngog forced a low save out of Mignolet, Kuyt fired just wide, Turner cleared off the line from Ngog and Agger headed wide.

But the result did little to lift the growing feeling of discontent in and around the club and sit-in protest against unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett at the final whistle only highlighted problems yet to be overcome.

Konchesky Injury Latest

Paul Konchesky is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring strain in our 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

The left-back had to leave the field early in the first half against Steve Bruce's men - and Roy Hodgson now expects to be without him for the next two games at least.

The manager said: "He's got a hamstring strain. I couldn't tell you exactly how bad it is yet. I don't think it's extremely bad but I certainly think it would rule him out for Thursday and next Sunday.

"Hopefully it won't be much more problematic."

Gerrard To Retain England Captaincy

Steven Gerrard is set to claim the England captaincy from Rio Ferdinand on a permanent basis.

Ferdinand was forced to withdraw from England’s World Cup campaign in South Africa because of an ankle injury.

And that paved the way for Liverpool skipper Gerrard to lead his country.

Initially, England boss Fabio Capello insisted that Ferdinand would be restored to the role once he regained his fitness. But Ferdinand, who has been troubled by injuries and illness this season, is only just returning to club action with Manchester United.

In fact, Ferdinand has already lost the United captain’s armband to Nemanja Vidic.

And Gerrard has produced a couple of ­inspirational performances for England this season in back-to-back European Championship qualifying victories over Bulgaria and then Switzerland.

That has led Capello to confide in close friends that he will find it extremely difficult to justify relieving Gerrard of his duties, despite the potential return of Ferdinand for the game against Montenegro on Tuesday October 12.

Ferdinand’s confidence of being automatically restored to the role has not impressed Capello either, who believed players have to earn the right to wear the armband.

Ferdinand’s injury-ravaged days appeared to play a part in Ferguson’s decision to opt for Vidic as United skipper.

Ferguson said: “What we wanted was someone who was consistently available for us.

“Everyone recognizes Nemanja would always be there.

“He has been fit all season and you don’t leave him out of the team unless you are going to rest him.”

Hodgson Calls For End To Liverpool's "Ownership Problem"

Roy Hodgson called for an end to Liverpool's "ownership problem" on Saturday after his misfiring side was held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland at Anfield.

Gloom has enveloped Liverpool after an embarrassing League Cup defeat by League Two (fourth division) Northampton Town on Wednesday and last weekend's defeat by Manchester United. Saturday's result left the 18-times league champions languishing in 15th place.

Some 10,000 fans stayed behind at Anfield to protest against American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, and manager Hodgson said he sympathized with the supporters.

"I don't think anybody at the club wants anything but a solution to the ownership problem," Hodgson, whose side have managed just one win in six Premier League matches, said on the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.tv/).

"The fans here are very passionate and care an awful lot about this football club.

"You cannot criticize them for showing their displeasure about the situation, because like ourselves they want to see the club moving forward and not sort of stuck with owners who are trying to sell the club."

Gillett and Hicks put the debt-laden club up for sale in April but a prospective takeover by Chinese businessman Kenny Huang failed to materialize last month.

With uncertainty hanging over the club off the pitch and a playing squad that looks ill-equipped to break back into the top four of the Premier League, Hodgson faces a tough task and he called for patience on Saturday.

"It's quite simply the 'Rome wasn't built in a day' adage," Hodgson said after another scrappy performance. "There are lots of things I see in the game that I think we need to work on.

"We need to work more together; we have a lot of new players coming into team. We haven't had that much time with matches in the Europa League and the league.

"But I think that the more we work and the more the team plays together, the better we will become.

"These are games we all need to win, but the league is very, very tight. If we had won today we could have found ourselves in fourth or fifth place. I don't think we are playing like a team in fourth or fifth just yet, but that's how close the league is. There's not a lot between teams and it should be seen as how hard the Premier League is."

Liverpool Face Up To The Threat Of Administration As Crisis Deepens At Anfield

The sense of looming crisis threatening to engulf Liverpool deepened on Saturday as Roy Hodgson’s side stuttered to a 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Anfield and it emerged the Royal Bank of Scotland has not ruled out the possibility of Kop Holdings, the company which owns Liverpool, going into administration.

RBS holds the majority of the £282 million debt laden on to Liverpool by the club‘s current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and is due to call the loans in on October 15.

The bank, which is 84% government owned, introduced Martin Broughton as the club’s chairman and appointed Barclays Capital, the investment arm of the high street bank, to identify replacements for the Americans as owners in April.

That search has proved fruitless and, though managing director Christian Purslow suggested this week “a small number” of groups were conducting due diligence on the club’s accounts, it is believed no live bids are currently on the table.

Meanwhile, Hicks has explored a number of avenues that would allow him to refinance that debt but is yet to secure the necessary funding. He informed the club’s board last week that he was negotiating a deal with GSO Capital, an arm of the hedge fund Blackstone, but sources at the company have since insisted they are not intending to take the matter further.

That leaves RBS facing a choice as the deadline approaches between calling the loans in or offering Hicks and Gillett a short-term refinancing in order to continue the search for a buyer.

Should the bank opt for the former, it would put Kop Holdings at risk of going into administration, though Liverpool as a club is solvent. Though that would not automatically result in a nine-point penalty, as suffered by Portsmouth last season, Liverpool is the company’s only asset and, as such, the Premier League would be likely to examine the matter.

Such a prospect, even if it entailed a penalty which would all but end Liverpool’s season, though, is not as unappealing to the club‘s supporters as may have been assumed.

A poll conducted by Vizu for the supporters’ website anfieldroad.com revealed that 97.6 per cent of Liverpool’s fans believe administration is a better option for the future of the club than seeing Hicks and Gillett allowed to remain in control beyond October.

“We had the same two choices on the poll as the RBS decision makers will have next month,” said Jim Boardman of anfieldroad.com.

“Fans have chosen the uncertainty of a bank takeover and the real threat of administration over the depressing certainty of what would come from more time with Hicks and Gillett at the helm. The message to RBS in particular is clear: Do not refinance that debt.”

Thousands of supporters remained behind at Anfield after watching Steven Gerrard rescue a point for Hodgson’s side to voice their discontent at the Americans’ regime.

Further direct action has been planned by the supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly, including a march before next Sunday’s visit of Blackpool, to increase pressure on the owners and RBS.

Liverpool Campaign Out To Sabotage Hicks

Angry Liverpool fans have mounted a concerted campaign to sabotage co-owner Tom Hicks’ attempts to stay in control at Anfield.

Hicks has spent the last week in his native USA desperately trying to persuade major financial institutions like Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to repay the £280million owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland by their October 15 deadline.

But Liverpool fans have flooded US media outlets and financial centres with e-mails outlining their disgust at Hicks’ attempts to cling on to power.

The fans have warned potential investors that their wrath will come down on those who are sympathetic to the hated Hicks. The American is prepared to buy out Liverpool partner George Gillett and hang on to the club in the hope he can sell for a huge profit. Unless he can raise the necessary cash to pay off the RBS then the club could fall into the hands of the bank.

The RBS would then have to swiftly find new owners - but at a knockdown price of £300m.

That is why all interested parties are holding off in the knowledge they could get it on the cheap.

Liverpool Sinking Towards Meltdown As Fans Went Fury

The corporate man at Anfield -- and there are a lot of them these days -- was getting worked up at half-time. He grabbed a minion on the stairs in the Main Stand. "Of all the days to be showing a great game of Benitez's, today is not the f***ing time." Sky were showing Liverpool's Champions League victory against Olympiakos which started Liverpool's improbable journey to Istanbul and this was not a day for a history lesson.

When Steven Gerrard celebrated his equalizer against Sunderland at Anfield yesterday, he did so with almost the same passion he had shown when he scored the crucial goal that put Liverpool into the knock-out stages six years ago. Liverpool's priorities have changed.

Liverpool has one win in six Premier League games this season but that is not their crisis. Exiting the Carling Cup at home to Northampton is not their crisis either. Roy Hodgson might have been going too far when he said afterwards that "I cannot see the drama" of that defeat but, equally, winning the Carling Cup and the FA Cup wouldn't solve Liverpool's problems.

At the end of the game, the PA announcer at Anfield announced that the club was aware that "supporters were planning to peacefully demonstrate in respect of the ownership situation" and asked the crowd not to behave in an uncontrolled manner. This was astonishing: the club was sanctioning a protest against the owners of the club.

In the corporate boxes and in the stand they chanted and turned to the Kop where thousands remained and sang, "They just care about money, they don't care about the fans, Liverpool Football Club is in the wrong hands."

The Liverpool players, on the field to warm down, did not know what to do. They had dropped more points and they were in the middle of a club sinking in every possible way. Carragher and Gerrard applauded the Kop as they jogged by but they were entitled to be confused.

In the city centre yesterday morning, the supporters' group, Spirit of Shankly, met to discuss their options as Liverpool teeter on the brink. They will protest but also they will look for fan ownership in the club.

Within weeks, Liverpool could be owned by the British taxpayer, in the form of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and they may also enter administration and face a nine-point penalty, which would leave them on minus points. Most Liverpool fans would probably prefer that option to the continued involvement of Hicks and Gillett.

They are said to be exploring ways of avoiding that penalty which would surely lead to a legal challenge from Liverpool's rivals. At the moment, that challenge is more likely to come from a relegation candidate than a Champions League side.

Liverpool is now astonishing for many reasons, few of them good. The club that has won the European Cup five times is now weeks away from meltdown. The destruction of England's most successful club is not Hodgson's fault. But he is not the man to create the illusion on the field that it's not happening.

Benitez's achievement in keeping Liverpool competitive while Hicks and Gillett destroyed the club for all but his final season is now looking even more remarkable as things enter a vital endgame.

Sunderland were the better team yesterday. Until he scored, Gerrard had been just another anonymous player for Liverpool, out-thought and out-played by Jordan Henderson

Liverpool's opening goal was bizarre. Sunderland's Michael Turner rolled the ball back to his goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, intending that he would take a free-kick. Instead he had already taken it. Torres took the ball and set up Dirk Kuyt. Sunderland came back when the dreadful Christian Poulsen handled the ball and then took the lead before Gerrard's equalizer.

"We're not playing like a fourth or fifth place side at the moment," Hodgson conceded. He then pointed to the strange results across the league as some justification for what had happened yesterday at Anfield. The problem is there was nothing strange about Liverpool's result.

Premier League Preview: Liverpool vs Sunderland

Both Liverpool and Sunderland will be looking forward to getting back to Premier League action on Saturday after suffering midweek defeats in the League Cup.

Liverpool was dumped out of the cup by League Two side Northampton Town on penalties, while Sunderland were knocked out of the competition by Premier League strugglers West Ham United.

It’s been a tough week for the Liverpool squad and their fans after defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United in the Premier League was followed by a humiliating midweek defeat on penalties to Northampton Town in the Carling Cup.

The Reds weren’t at their best against United but Roy Hodgson will take heart from the fight back from his side put up, although he will be concerned that his side conceded a third goal and that all three of United’s goals came from crosses.

Things didn’t get better on Wednesday night when the Cobblers knocked the Reds out of the League Cup. Despite making 11 changes Liverpool fans were expecting a victory but it wasn’t to be as they were outplayed by Northampton, who were deserving of their victory on penalties.

Reds fans will at least be buoyed by their record against Sunderland in the Premier League at Anfield and will hope the return of their more senior players sees an improved performance and a much needed victory.

Sunderland are on a bit of a high in the Premier League at the moment, following their victory over Manchester City, a strong performance against Wigan and their dramatic injury time equalizer against Arsenal.

Confidence was high at the Stadium of Light, but a surprise defeat to West Ham United in the League Cup will have dented that a little.

The form of Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan will be something Steve Bruce will be happy with — between them the strikers have bagged seven of the eight goals scored by the Black Cats this season. Bruce will be hoping his new look strike partnership continues to flourish as Sunderland go in search of their first victory at Anfield in the Premier League.

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson is expected to recall his senior players for this match and that could mean 11 changes to the side beaten by Northampton Town.

Liverpool fans will be expecting to see Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Fernando Torres and Joe Cole back in the starting line-up and will hope they can turn around the Reds form.

Potential starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Konchesky; Cole, Poulsen, Meireles, Babel; Gerrard; Torres.

Sunderland

Steve Bruce played a full strength side for the Carling Cup defeat against West Ham so he may not make any changes to his starting line-up.

Captain Lee Cattermole will be available again after serving a one match suspension following his red card against Wigan, however Titus Bramble may not be involved following his recent arrest on suspicion of rape.

Potential starting XI: Mignolet; Onouha, Ferdinand, Bramble, Richardson; Henderson, Cattermole, Riveros, Malbranque; Bent, Gyan.

Roy Hodgson Confident That Liverpool Can Emerge Stronger From Current Problems

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has acknowledged that he is bitterly disappointed at his club's exit from the League Cup, but feels that it is too early in the season to become too downhearted.

Hodgson accepts that he and his players must take responsibility for the League Cup exit to Northampton Town but has urged fans not to lose faith in his regime.

"I've had many disappointments. You can't work at 35 years at the level I have without having disappointments," Hodgson told reporters.

"Any criticism which comes my way and the team's we have to accept because it is not acceptable to have a home game in the Carling Cup against a team several divisions below you and not come out with a victory.

"Wednesday was a really bad result for the club, it has knocked us backwards, and has put us in a situation where we are heavily criticized - perhaps rightly so."

Hodgson also adopted a more objective viewpoint when assessing the club's season so far, pointing out that there had been some positives to take from this campaign already.

"Everyone predicted the start of the season was going to be difficult looking at our program, players leaving and coming in and discussions about the future of the club," 62-year-old added.

"That is how it's proved to be. We've had some good moments - with five straight Europa League victories - but also some bad ones, like the [3-0] defeat at Manchester City and the one in the Carling Cup.

"It's been pretty much a mixed bag but we'll live through the bad moments and over the course of the season we'll do well.

"We are reading an awful lot into a bad result.

"If we'd had a positive result on Wednesday this would have been quite a positive press conference as people would have been talking about Manchester United (last weekend), how well we did in the second half, but all of that flies out of the window."

Fernando Torres 'To Submit Liverpool Transfer Request In January'

Fernando Torres is preparing to drop a bombshell on new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson in January by handing in a written transfer request, it has been suggested.

Torres is reportedly disgruntled at the Reds' manager's failure to bring in any more big-name signings since Joe Cole's arrival on a free transfer.

The signing of the ex-Chelsea star was thought to have been a watershed moment for the club in outbidding rival suitors Arsenal and Tottenham, with reports at the time claiming Cole had been offered £90,000 a week over four years at Anfield.

Shortly afterwards, Torres spoke out to commit his future to Liverpool - despite speculation that Manchester City and Chelsea were both preparing to break their transfer records to sign the Spanish international.

But the former Atletico Madrid striker is said to have had a rethink, with the Daily Star claiming he will demand to leave when the transfer window reopens.

Torres' form has been poor so far this season, with several factors - from exhaustion after the World Cup to fears of picking up more injuries - being blamed for his disappointing showings.

And it is said the 26-year-old believes a move away from Liverpool - where concerns over the club's financial position are overshadowing the team's performances - could rejuvenate his flagging club career.

Fans To Protest Against Liverpool FC's Owners At Anfield

Another protest against Liverpool’s American owners takes place at Anfield today. But Roy Hodgson admits the latest problem for those suffering supporters is entirely of his own making.

The reverberations are still being strongly felt from Wednesday’s calamitous Carling Cup humiliation at home to npower League Two minnows Northampton Town.

Although a second-string line-up, there were nevertheless six full internationals in the Liverpool team that slumped to one of the most embarrassing results in the club’s long, trophy-laden history.

After a difficult start to his tenure both on and off the field, it was the last thing Hodgson needed as he strives to put down foundations and revive the feelgood factor of pre-season.

And the 63-year-old shoulders much of the responsibility for a truly dismal evening in midweek.

"I didn’t feel the need to get the players together to lift spirits the day after the game," says Hodgson. "We had a training session with 13 players and they’re the ones who didn’t play because the others came in during the afternoon for a warm down.

"I told them ‘it was a bad moment for the club unfortunately which was of my making because I took a team that underperformed and lost, but it had nothing to do with you. You can’t take responsibility because you weren’t not even on the bench.’"

While exonerating those that were absent in midweek – indeed, Hodgson will change his entire starting line-up for today’s Premier League visit of Sunderland – the defeat only increases the pressure on Liverpool’s senior players to improve on a start to the season that has seen them accrue only five points in as many games and hover just about the relegation zone.

But Hodgson says: "Why should the pressure transfer on to them? The spotlight would have been on us anyway, five points in five games and at home at Sunderland.

"We are living through a moment of my own making you could say which people I think are profiting and enjoying themselves enormously by writing things about the club that they themselves don’t probably believe.

"Wednesday had nothing to do with the players who will play on Saturday and I don’t think their confidence or perception will change one iota.

"They are as disappointed as I was by the performance but its a game of football and it’s not the first time its happened to a football club, it’s not the first time its happened to Liverpool Football Club but when it does happen to you its a major blow and all we can do is take the criticism and the blow and get on with our jobs.

"There is no alternative and what’s more there’s no solution other than to do that."

If Liverpool’s unrecognizable line-up in midweek suggests maybe a "false" result against Northampton, then Hodgson believes his team’s testing fixture list has given their start a somewhat misleading appearance.

In five games, Liverpool have faced three title challengers – Manchester City and Manchester United away, Arsenal at home – and also travelled to a Birmingham City side that haven’t lost at home for almost a year.

And asked if the table gave a false impression of his team, Hodgson says: "Yes I think so, I’ve said that all along. I have to say that after the Man United game I was very, very sad after the game because after getting it back to 2-2 that would have been a really good result and it would have buoyed everybody.

"We didn’t get it because they scored a third goal quite close to the end but the training has been very good this week and I’m impressed with the players here.

"The criticism levelled about the depth of the squad I can understand because people saw the squad playing on Wednesday and we lost the game and people will make conclusions and there is not much I can do about that.

"Maybe it was a good learning process for me as well because seeing them in training and seeing them in matches is two different things and sometimes you have to see them in games.

"I think that we will get better as I’ve said all along. The players are working very hard and responding very well to the work we are trying to do but we need some results to back that up.

"The performances have been better after quite a poor one at Manchester City and nor particularly good against West Brom and Birmingham. United was a step in the right direction and I expect that to carry on."

Hodgson has learned the hard way in recent weeks that the spotlight on Liverpool far outstrips anything in his managerial career – even while at Inter Milan – and will only intensify should they fail against Sunderland today.

And the manager admits to being taken aback by the level of scrutiny his tenure has already been put under.

"Inter had a television channel all those years ago and they were forerunners and they had their own internet but, yes, it has surprised me a little bit I suppose," says Hodgson. "I’m coming to terms with that more and more.

"It’s not so much a surprise but you have to live it to appreciate it. I did expect it to be different to Fulham and much more spotlight and interest but you have to live it to appreciate it.

"If I say I’m surprised it suggest that I didn’t realize how big this club was and how much interest there is but I did realize that I was coming to a much bigger and more pressurized and scrutinized job than the one I was having.

"I realized those things but you have to live it to appreciate it. And all the things going on now are helping me appreciate that even more – if ‘appreciate’ is the right word."

Roy Hodgson Hits Back At Sir Alex Ferguson For Calling Fernando Torres A Cheat

Roy Hodgson has hit back at Sir Alex Ferguson by insisting Fernando Torres is not a cheat – and admits he should have immediately jumped to the defence of the striker.

Manchester United manager Ferguson caused a stir in the wake of Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford last Sunday by accusing Torres of attempting to get John O’Shea sent off after being fouled by the defender for the free-kick from which Steven Gerrard scored Liverpool’s equalizer.

Hodgson neglected the opportunity to rubbish the comments in the immediate aftermath of the match by refusing to become embroiled in a war of words.

But, with Torres set to resume up front against Sunderland at Anfield this afternoon, the Liverpool manager insists it was wrong for Ferguson to question the integrity of the striker.

"Fernando Torres is not a cheat, he has proved that time and time again," said Hodgson, who could welcome Dirk Kuyt back to the fold today. "He is a very respected player, he is strong and takes players on and not easy to stop and he is going to get fouls like he did for their equalizing goals.

"I don’t think anybody thinks that was not a foul on the edge of the box. I can understand the penalty as well because it is a bit unlucky on the player because he slides but unfortunately that is a stonewall pen when you slide and take somebody out of the game.

"Alex is a good friend of mine and knows how to use the mass media and he’s used it very well there and he might have used it to deflect from Nani who, certainly on one or two occasions, was playing for fouls in our opinion.

"There is no danger of us cheating. The players here have had years and years of criticism and crisis management every time they have not won a game or things have not gone their way and I think Torres will shrug those suggestions off just as I shrug them off."

Many Liverpool supporters were perturbed Hodgson missed the opportunity to instantly defend Torres, something the Anfield manager accepts was a mistake.

"Possibly I’m learning as I go along," he said. "I wouldn’t have thought it was necessary but seeing the way people exaggerate almost everything and want to hype everything up, maybe I should have said something there and then.

"I didn’t think it was necessary to say it because it was insulting people’s intelligence. For me, it was one of Alex’s inflammatory little digs to make his victory even sweeter and our defeat even harder and that’s part of the game."

With Liverpool still smarting from their embarrassing Carling Cup exit to npower League Two minnows Northampton Town on Wednesday, Hodgson will revert back to his first-choice team for the visit of Sunderland.

The Anfield manager is expected to change his entire starting XI and is likely to include Kuyt, who returned to training this week after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury.

Tommy Smith: Sweeping Changes Led To Liverpool FC Humiliating Downfall

I wasn’t at the Northampton game on Wednesday night. But I don’t think I could have been any angrier even if I had been.

As soon as the penalty shoot-out ended, I switched the radio off and went to bed.

Like all other listening fans, and of course the thousands of supporters who paid their money, braved the rain and went along to support their side in what should have been a routine cup game, I’d long since heard enough and had enough.

I know there were six international players on duty plus some other apparently up and coming youngsters. And for that reason we should have had enough to see off a lowly League Two side at Anfield.

But a fair share of the blame for this woefully embarrassing defeat simply has to go to the manager for making 11 changes – yes 11 changes – to the line-up.

I’m sorry but this is just utterly ridiculous to me.

I played for eight years in a team that barely changed under Bill Shankly.

The first team line-up and approach was replicated through the ranks. So if one of us did get injured, the left-back or right-half or whoever would be replaced by someone from the reserves who was groomed in the position and what was expected. He would step up and fit in.

How on earth are 11 players who have never played together as a side before be expected to play really well? To me they just can’t.

Had Roy Hodgson instead announced in advance that he would be playing people like Gerrard, Reina, Torres and Carragher in his starting line-up, then many more fans would have turned up I’m sure and we would have had no problems.

Remember, playing at Anfield is a cup final for a side like Northampton and to entirely change our side from the weekend has played right into their hands.

I know it’s early days for Hodgson and he’ll certainly be learning a lot about his squad. But I really hope that after Sunderland today he looks to keep the same side against Utrecht in midweek and again against Blackpool in a week.

If players need resting let them instead ease up on the training, as we used to do.

Because wholesale changes invariably bring wholesale misery in my book.

Labour MPs Raise Liverpool FC Sale Concerns With Christian Purslow

Three Merseyside MPs have met with Liverpool FC to raise concerns over the club's future.

Liverpool supporters Steve Rotheram (Walton), Alison McGovern (Wirral South) and Derek Twigg (Halton) have all raised concerns in the House of Commons over the rammifications of the sale which will seal Tom Hicks and George Gillett's imminent departure from Anfield.

On Thursday, the trio met Christian Purslow, the club's managing director, to discuss issues raised by supporters and constituents in recent weeks as the sale process continues to drag on with only weeks remaining before the Royal Bank of Scotland's loan deadline expires.

Fans continue to remain anxious about the long-term future at Anfield following the Americans' failure to ensure that the club remained debt-free following their takeover in 2007.

However a statement from the group revealed that they were satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and felt that Purslow, along with fellow board members, commercial director, Ian Ayre and, chairman, Martin Broughton are doing all they can to find the right buyer for the club.

“We are grateful to Liverpool Football Club and Christian Purslow for agreeing to a meeting so that we could discuss the current situation regarding the potential sale," it read.

"We are conscious that a crucial deadline is looming which has increased the anxiety of supporters, thousand of whom have contacted us, and we are keen to do all we can to see the club in a sustainable financial position.

"We came away with the clear view that everything possible is being done by Chairman, Martin Broughton, Managing Director, Christian Purslow and Commercial Director Ian Ayre to secure a buyer that will be right for Liverpool Football Club and will take the club forward.

"It is important that the Club gets things right this time regarding its future ownership and we believe the independent members of the Board deserve the backing of the club’s supporters.”

All three Labour MPs signed an Early Day Motion in June to highlight Gillett and Hicks' failure to 'exercise responsible stewardship', citing the failure to fulfil their promise to build a new stadium in Stanley Park as one of justification for 'a positive strategy to take the club forward'.

Rotheram, who was Lord Mayor of Liverpool before being elected as Walton MP, added: “The future of Liverpool FC and the building of a new stadium is crucial to the regeneration of the Anfield area and I emphasized this during our meeting with Christian Purslow.

"We need to bring an end to this saga and the uncertainty that has helped create such horrendous conditions for residents living in the area.”

Steven Gerrard Urges Senior Stars To Step Up Following League Cup Exit To Northampton Town

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has called on his senior team-mates to carry the club through a difficult start to the season.

Gerrard, 30, was just an observer as Roy Hodgson's understrength side crashed to defeat to League Two Northampton Town in Wednesday night's League Cup tie. The result followed a poor start to their Premier League campaign which sees them in 16th place in the table.

Speaking to the club's official website, Gerrard issued a rallying cry to get the Anfield outfit back to success starting with the weekend fixture against Sunderland.

He said: "They will learn from this experience. Football isn't just about highs.

"Throughout my career I have experienced both highs and lows and probably learnt more from the lows because you look at yourself first, look at what went wrong and try to learn from your mistakes.

"The players are allowed to be down today but it's up to players like myself to pick them back up because playing for this club there are big games every two or three days and we need to get everyone's head focused on Sunderland now.

"I can understand everyone's frustration but I think the Carling Cup now, when you're part of a big club and a big squad, is all about giving young players the chance and the experience because if you put a strong side out then the kids will never get the chance to experience playing in front of big crowds and in big competitions. There are still some positives underneath the frustration.

"Although we've gone out and everyone is down and disappointed, the experience that would have given the lads in the dressing room might be vital for the future.

"The amount of ability and talent in that squad was good enough to roll Northampton over and I'm sure nine times out of ten it would have, but in cup football sometimes a shock happens and you slip on the banana. Those players are still good players, we're still a fantastic squad and there's still a lot of things to achieve this term and a lot of football to be played.

"The last thing we want now is for people to be sulking with their heads down because there's a massive game in three days.

"No-one is hurting more than the players who played. We've all been there and all experienced it.

"Everyone is disappointed and down but it's not the end of the world. It's gone now, it's important we move on and think about Sunderland and try to get the three points."

Fernando Torres Ready To Quit Kop

Fernando Torres is ready to quit Liverpool in dismay at the club’s progress under new boss Roy Hodgson.

And big-spending Manchester City are already ­pl­otting a £50m January bid to put the Spain superstar out of his Anfield misery.

The World Cup winner feels the club has gone back on promises to invest in top quality players and is now looking for a way out.

Torres was hotly tipped to leave Liverpool in the summer after the Merseysiders failed to secure Champions League football under Rafa Benitez last season.

Barcelona, City and Chelsea all showed a major interest in the striker – but Torres insisted he wouldn’t make a decision on his future until after the World Cup in South Africa.

After Benitez’s departure and a lot of persuasion from Hodgson, the former Atletico Madrid man followed in skipper Steven Gerrard’s footsteps by deciding to stay at Liverpool.

The shock capture of Joe Cole and Hodgson’s promise of more major signings played a big role in persuading Torres to stay.

But the club has failed to follow up their swoop for ex-Chelsea star Cole with any other marquee names – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the Spaniard.

The departure to Barcelona of Javier Mascherano – arguably the best defensive ­midfielder in world football – and their poor start to the season have also deeply concerned Torres.

All that, together with the club’s precarious financial state, has forced him to seriously reconsider his future.

Torres, 26, has come in for some early-season criticism for a string of below-par displays, with many questioning whether he actually wants to be at the club. Starsport understands that Torres’ representatives are already trying to engineer a move away from Anfield in the January window – particularly if the Reds’ quest to regain their Champions League status looks doomed.

And City chiefs have already made it clear that they are ready to smash their transfer record to bring the hitman to Eastlands.

Boss Roberto Mancini made Torres his No.1 summer target, but knew he would be facing an uphill struggle to lure the striker without the carrot of European Cup football.

But the Italian will renew his attempts to pull off the capture of Torres once the transfer window reopens.

Bayern Munich Set For €20 Million Liverpool Raid

Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich are looking at the prospect of buying Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina as their answer to the retired Oliver Kahn. The Spanish keeper has impressed during numerous weeks at Anfield despite Liverpool sitting uncomfortably in 16th place in the Premiership.

The player is highly rated and reports from Germany and Holland suggest the South German team may look to Reina as the ideal summer signing with Munich already leaking goals at the back this season. The news will alarm Liverpool fans as they feel their team becoming somewhat of a footballing supermarket after news that Tom Hicks could not get backing to re-finance any deals.

Reina has been at Liverpool Football for sometime now and he may also feel it is time for a new challenge having missed out on Champions League football this season and possibly the next if he decides to stay at Anfield.

With talk during the summer of a possible move to Arsenal, Liverpool’s owners know they have a good quality asset on their hands and they could possibly encourage a bidding war that would lead to a transfer fee of around €20m.

With Liverpool being knocked out of the Carling Cup this week, it leaves the Merseysider’s only two real chances of silverware both in the FA Cup and Europa League although manager Roy Hodgson may feel that a Champions League spot is more important as he tries to keep his players for next season.

Liverpool Plan Ambitious £18m Raid For Tottenham Pair

Liverpool will attempt to pull of something of a coup this January by trying to nab two out of favour Tottenham players as the Anfield club looks to improve his under-performing squad. Boss Roy Hodgson is rumoured to be looking to reignite his interest in Roman Pavlyuchenko as well as lure Mexican international Giovani with the promise of the first team football neither regular enjoys at White Hart Lane.

The Merseyside club tried in a last ditch move to bring Pavlyuchenko to the club last month and will look to secure the Russian in January when it may well become abundantly clear that the former Spartak Moscow man is little more than a bit part player in the north London club’s plans. The 28 year old forward has managed just one start in the Premier League this season and even then he was hauled off after an hour, so he may well be keen on a move.

Former Barcelona man Giovani is in a similar position having managed just 30 minutes of Premier League action thus far and having failed to persuade Redknapp of his value the 21 year old adaptable attacker may well have had enough of bench warming.

Both players would offer Hodgson a vast improvement on what the club has to offer in their respective positions. Pavlyuchenko may well be an ideal foil for Fernando Torres and Giovani could offer Liverpool a number of attacking options to help provide ammunition for a club that has struggled badly to hit the back of the net, managing just two goals from open play in five matches.

The pair would cost the club around £18m to purchase and clearly such a move would become more realistic in funding terms if co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had been ousted by the club by new owners. However it is worth noting that the club has netted around £30m through player sales over the summer and reinvested around £20m of that in new additions and Managing Director Christian Purslow has stated that money made from sales would be reinvested in improving the Anfield squad.

Holland Drop Liverpool FC's Ryan Babel Following Anfield Failure

Ryan Babel has admitted that he 'failed personally' during Liverpool's humiliating Carling Cup exit to Northampton Town after being dropped from Holland's Euro 2012 squad.

The trying attacker suffered a double heartache on Wednesday as Liverpool crashed out to the League Two outfit on penalties just hours after he found out that Bert van Marwijk omitted him from the Oranje's upcoming qualifiers against Moldova and Sweden.

Former Ajax prodigy Babel has struggled to justify his £11.5milllon price tag after arriving at Anfield in 2007 from his hometown club and reflected on the defeat on Twitter yesterday amidst fears that his future resurfaced following the muted performance.

"No excuses for Wednesday night," he wrote.

"We weren't good enough. And I failed personally.

"Haven't lost faith, so I keep working."

The 23-year-old was linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, amongst others, before the summer transfer window closed and Liverpool are expected to listen to offers for his services if no significant improvement is not made before the New Year.

Roy Hodgson Seems Powerless To Arrest Liverpool's Decline

Roy Hodgson offered an eloquent expression of his powerlessness by sitting, almost motionless, in the Anfield dugout as Liverpool lurched further into crisis against Northampton on Wednesday.

Even as Liverpool rocked under the League Two side's onslaught in the second half, even as they found themselves outplayed and out-thought by a team some 69 places below them in the league pyramid, Hodgson did not stir from his seat.

He did not rise to exhort his young players as their nerves shredded, or upbraid the five internationals included in his second-string side as their abilities seemingly deserted them. Hodgson, impervious, impassive, has found himself impotent to stop Liverpool's continued fall from grace.

That should not be read as a criticism. Liverpool's defeat on penalties against Ian Sampson's determined side rounded off an annus horribilis which began with their excoriation in Florence on Sept 30 last year, took in an early exit from the Champions League, humiliation against Reading in the FA Cup and a seventh place finish in the Premier League.

Rafael Benítez could not retain his job as manager. His replacement was identified as the man to steady the ship, to steer Liverpool through the choppiest waters in their recent history.

His appeal was understandable. Off the field, he would not indulge in the Machiavellian politics so beloved of the Spaniard, while on it he could be relied upon at least to return a sense of style to a club whose substance was crumbling. He could work on limited resources and unite a fractured dressing room.

It seems now that Liverpool was simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Their troubles begin in the boardroom and infect every pore of the club.

The root cause of all of those defeats, from Fiorentina to Northampton, is Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Steven Gerrard might yesterday have insisted that the club's fans could trust the team "to get it right in the end," but while his faith is admirable, such a statement lays bare Liverpool's desperation.

The Americans must depart before any genuine recovery can begin.

When judging Hodgson, the circumstances in which he is working must be taken into consideration, though Benítez was scarcely afforded the same courtesy.

Unlike his predecessor, Hodgson, to his credit, has made it clear he does not wish to use his absentee employers as an excuse. "I will not go down the ownership route," he said in August. "If you do not think the team is doing as well as it should, then as a player you can do something about it." Presumably, the same must go for the manager. Yet by his own criteria, and those used by the club when appointing him, Hodgson's opening months at Anfield have hardly been a success.

Daniel Agger may have distanced himself from comments suggesting the 62 year-old favoured a long-ball style, but even if his original words were lost in translation, few observers disagreed with him. Liverpool are hardly winning points for artistic impression.

They are hardly winning points of any sort, in fact – just five in the Premier League, albeit with a solid start in the Europa League. It is not hard to explain why. Few teams struggle more to create chances. Instinctive striking from David Ngog and Fernando Torres gave them a point against Arsenal and a win against West Brom, two set-pieces from Gerrard averted embarrassment at Old Trafford.

That Hodgson's reserves required two slices of good fortune even to take Northampton to penalties, though, suggests the problem is not only chronic but is one of system, rather than personnel, despite the criticism directed at Torres, in particular.

However, that the Spaniard is not alone in appearing to be "fed up", to borrow a phrase from Jamie Redknapp, is telling. The rationale for Benítez's dismissal was that he had lost the dressing room. For all the public utterances of support from his new players, there is no on-pitch evidence Hodgson has found it.

Perhaps that is not his fault. Perhaps that is the fate of Liverpool's manager in an era when disaffection with the ownership, with the status quo, permeates even the dressing room. Perhaps Hodgson cannot be expected to steer a course to safety. Perhaps all he can do is go down with the ship.

Liverpool FC Fans Take Battle With Hicks And Gillett Across The Atlantic

Liverpool's disenchanted fans took their dissatisfaction with Tom Hicks and George Gillett across the Atlantic on Thursday, sending hundreds of emails to leading US media executives, news outlets and financial institutions pleading for increased coverage of the club's current state.

Appealing to the memory of the Beatles, the special relationship between the UK and the USA and the thought of a British businessman destroying the New York Yankees or Washington Redskins, Liverpool's fans called for the situation to be reported in an effort to persuade Wall Street that allowing Hicks and Gillett to refinance their ownership of the Anfield club would be a mistake.

The campaign came at the end of seven days of confusion at Anfield. Last Friday, widespread reports emerged that Hicks was seeking to refinance and continue his ownership of Liverpool. The reports came less than four months after Hicks told journalists of his desire to quit the sports industry for good. "It's never been my primary business," he told Dallas Morning News reporters Gary Jacobson and Brendan Case on May 26. "And it's a business I no longer want to pay the price to be in." Weeks later, at the start of August, Hicks completed the sale of the Texas Rangers MLB franchise to a group led by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Liverpool's owners put the club on the market before the start of the summer but, according to managing director Christian Purslow, no firm bids have been made. Perhaps Hicks' stance this week has been a bargaining tool. He certainly has no intention of selling Liverpool on the cheap, making clear in the same interview with Jacobson and Case that he intended to make back "a couple of hundred" million dollars that he had lost on the Texas Rangers with the Anfield club. Nor will he want the club to be taken out of his hands by RBS, as has been mooted.

From a business perspective, there is little doubt that Hicks and Gillett should be able to command a higher asking price than they paid. Their ownership may have been distressing for fans, but it has seen a rapid turnaround of the club's commercial fortunes. Two examples stand out.

Firstly, Liverpool's previous shirt sponsorship, with Carlsberg, was worth a few million pounds per season - less, for example, than Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa will collect from Autonomy and FxPro this year. The new deal with Standard Chartered, negotiated by a commercial team headed by Liverpool's commercial director, Ian Ayre, matches Manchester United's £20 million per season as a British record.

Secondly, Hicks and Gillett arrived in early 2007. Later that year, the Premier League began a new cycle of broadcast rights for 2007-10, in which Liverpool's income from television money rose by 65 per cent. Another cycle, 2010-13, is now underway, and the club's broadcast income has risen again. The television money may be none of Hicks' or Gillett's doing, but there is no arguing with the fact that, off the pitch, Liverpool are a far more attractive commercial proposition than in the winter of 2006.

Unfortunately, the club's decline on the field has been far more obvious. For many years, Liverpool's success on the pitch masked a poorly run business; now poor first team performances obscure improved commercial fortunes. And even the business side of things is unsatisfactory to many fans, coming as it does with heavy debt loaded onto the club.

Put simply, though, the satisfaction of fans with an owner comes down to success on the pitch - hence the ease with which the Glazers continue to ride out discontent at Old Trafford. You can secure as many sponsorships as you want, but losing to Northampton will test the patience of the fans of any Premier League club. Liverpool fans' patience has long since run out.